Tassh aka Heidenkind filling in...
The Anita Blake series is arguably one of the first UF series. With its mixture of violence and romance, it seemed unique and ground-breaking when it first started out. But it's also known for alienating its very fan base--why?
Several people have blogged about their divorce with Anita Blake, with one of Katiebabs' posts coming most immediately to mind. I also broke up with this series in book 8, when Anita slept with yucky werewolf, Richard. Not only was Richard gross, but Anita was already in a relationship with Jean Claude--the way more awesomer vampire. I hated that plot turn and immediately dropped the book. Literally, it went into the trash, along with Obsidian Butterfly, which I had already bought. Just recently I got rid of all the Anita Blake books, no longer having any interest in reading them.
How can these books, in which we are so invested in the characters, turn us off so violently? I think it's because Hamilton, like many other UF writers, feels the need to keep pushing the boundaries. There's a difference between character development and pushing the line, especially when the line you keep crossing is sex and violence.
Are these books like the Roman Circus, getting increasingly bloody and amoral just to keep us watching the show? I think in some respects they are. They can be redeemed by great characters; but with these long-running series, the author has to up the ante with every book, for fear that the series will become stale. The only problem with this is what I think of the Anita Blake Problem: eventually it becomes unbelievable or unrelateable for the reader.
Are UF series destined by their very nature to run themselves out business? Or do you think there's a way to avoid the Anita Blake problem?
You can find Tasha at her blog at Truth, Beauty, Freedom and Books and at Twitter @Heidenkind
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Guest Post: Divorcing From a Beloved Author
Posted by KB/KT Grant at 4:30 PM
Labels: Divorcing an author, Guest post
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10 comments:
I had actually really liked the character of Richard and I got turned off from the books when Anita slept with Jean Claude while she was with Richard. Hamilton then goes on to turn Richard into a bitter obnoxious character and I just couldn't stomach the books anymore. Though one of the biggest problems I had with the books was how Anita was becoming an all-powerful figure, who even the vampires and werewolves are afraid of, and that ruined the books for me as well. As you say, it turned Anita into a character that was just too difficult to relate to.
I've never read any of these books, I just couldn't get into the first one, but I don't think any series can go on forever and not suffer. It's just not natural. It's a bit like reality TV, it starts with the bachelor - cute guy picks from amongst cute girls - okay, that's boring. Cute girls picks from among ugly boys. Now people lose interest in that, little people pick among regular sized people. What's next, zombies pick which human they'll brain munch? I think a good story shouldn't have to rely on the shock factor to keep readers coming back. If the only reason you read is to see how high the body count will be in this book (in or out of bed) then it's not really a testament to the author's talent as a storyteller.
Very interesting topic. Like Simcha, I liked Richard and the Richard book, but I left around book 10, because it seemed creepy - a lot of weird dungeon torture stuff. I've been waiting around to hear it gets good again, I'll take Anita back!
I love your violent reaction though. That is a very passionate reaction! it's a good question, too - can any series persist? People seem happy with JD Robbs, still. Not so much with Stephanie Plum. Even on series I'm excited about, I'll peter out on my own.
I think it must be hard for an author to keep her own attention up, too. I wonder how much of it is that. Like, LKH, she's been dealing with that same character for, what? A decade?
I was always a Richard fan until Hamilton made him such an obnoxious hole. I stopped reading after the 8th or 9th book. It has crossed from UF to ridiculous. When I read a book and starts creeping me out then I know it's time to take a break.
She does push the boundaries and she writes as she pleases and I can respect that. But when each book becomes the same story told over an over with just a tweak here and there then it's done.
You bring up a lot of good points with this. I think it's possible, because I don't see an actual resolution to the series. I stopped reading with Burnt Offerings, I think that was 6 or 7. I haven't really kept up with the series, but have heard that most of the books involve lots of sex and very little plot. And I can't believe I just said that, lol but I do like my books to have plot to go with sex. :)
I too found the Anita Blake books worthy of divorce around Narcissus in Chains (although I thought Obsidian Butterfly was one of the better books in the series: mostly gore and some actual plot.) The Mary-Sue-ing of Anita felt way too obvious; taking a rather well realized character with morals and doubts and then morphing her into an all-powerful and all-desired bed-hopper? Made me feel betrayed. Hamilton should have had some restraint or maybe an editor' input might have been nice, but I guess if a series sells they don't bother with trying to tell an author what to do anymore? Richard was a bland-ish, nice guy who got turned into a raging asshat and Jean-Claude who was SO awesome became a doormat background character.
As for other series, I am eternally grateful for the Harry Dresden books which just keep being SO GOOD.
I couldn't get past the first two chapters of the original book. I could tell it wasn't going to have anything remotely like an HEA, which is a requirement for me, at the end of the book and that was that.
I did read Ward, which though a series, had an HEA at the end of each book till she pulled a Casper on V and there were too many contradictions in the world *she* created and couldn't seem to stick with, so V's was the end for me.
I think often times, a good series author will write a character or two that just grabs us. But as the series goes on, the author ends up running out of new directions and starts recycling the situations rather than bringing the series to an end, and that's when we get angry and quit.
I used to buy ABVH - every book. I started reading sometime after Burnt Offerings was already written so the first dozen or so books I have in papberback, followed by hardbacks... up to the Harlequin. After that I stopped buying. I've been reading them from the library (granted it's only 3 books) because I'm a tad disenchanted. There's so many things I want to happen in the book series and they just aren't. LKH is a big tease when it comes to the ardeur. I still love the world and characters to keep reading but unless Asher and JC are up front and center I probably won't purchase the book. Oh and I too am a huge Richard hater. Can we kill him off yet? PLEASE?
Honestly, I haven't had a problem with the Anita series. Yes there are certain ones that I'm not a huge fan of (Obsidian Butterfly), some do get a little too graphic in the sex scenes (Incubus Dreams), but I've never felt like they've lacked any sort of plot or lost any kind of character development. I've actually thought the exact opposite. There's a ton of character development, but it gets lost in the sex. The last couple of books haven't dealt with that as much and I thought they were great.
For me, Anita was never involved with JC until after she started dating Richard and JC gave her the ultimatum to date them both. Plus, I've never been a Richard fan. He never seemed to think of anyone but himself, even when he was dating Anita, and he's much more of a whiny bitch. I seriously hope he mans up soon or LKH kills him off.
When you get to this long running series, you have to mix things up, throw something out there or the whole thing does get stale. If LKH hadn't added the ardeur, how many more novels could she have done with Anita fighting both Richard and JC while doing the necromancer stuff? Something had to be thrown at her to get her to develop more. Do I wish that LKH had been able to do it in one book instead of three, yes; but what can I do?
If you want to talk about a series running themselves out of business, I can think of other series that have done this way...better?...than the Anita series. Take the Stephenie Plum novels. I loved the first half of them, but by the time we got to book 12, it seriously sounded like Evanovich had started to recycle her own plots. There is no character development with Stephenie anymore and nothing ever happens. At LKH has given her characters something to do that is different in each novel and not the same old same old.
How can these books, in which we are so invested in the characters, turn us off so violently? I think it's because Hamilton, like many other UF writers, feels the need to keep pushing the boundaries.
Nope. For me, the coup de grace was Hamilton herself and her pathological oversharing in her blog, forwards, epilogues, acknowledgements, dedications, etc. (And now we can add Tweets to the list!) Hamilton and Anita are so interchangeable for me now that I can't hate one without hating the other...and I can't read Anita's story without feeling like I'm reading Hamilton's. And there's something just skeevy about that.
~nifty
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